The 115th North American International Toy Fair opens in about an hour, but we thought we’d give you a sneak peek at just some of the specialties that await. These goodies courtesy of the fine folks at McFarlane Toys.

Upside Down You’re Turning Me…
Fans of the Netflix series Stranger Things can bring a little bit of the old “upside down” home as McFarlane rolls out these detailed action figures throughout 2018. Theses articulated likenesses of Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown,) Will (Noah Schnapp,) Mike (Finn Wolfhard,) Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin,) Dustin (Galen Matarazzo) and Chief Hopper (David Harbour) measure 6”-7’, with the Demogorgon in proper scale at 10”. Each will be packaged with a nice assortment of accessories.

I’m on the outside looking in. Poor Demogorgon is dateless for the prom.

SkeletonPete Says…
We’ll be seeing these up close and personal this weekend, and sharing our own unique photos, along with those of many McFarlane licensed collectibles including Call of Duty, Attack On Titan, Rick and Morty, Star Trek, Steven Universe.

Those who can’t wait for LEGOLAND New York to open in 2020 can get a massive bricks fix at the very first Lego Live NYC event.The family oriented weekend will take place at Manhattan’s Pier 36 on February 16-18, 2018 and will offer a range of activities sure to please LEGO neophytes and diehard “Brickheads” alike.

LEGO Live NYC offers 5 timed-entry sessions during the weekend with a full menu of special activities. All the licensed and original product lines (Stars Wars, Batman, NINJAGO) will be represented. LEGO Masters will be on board to help work out your gnarliest design conundrums, and hands-on activities and live performances will be featured across the 65,000 square foot event space.

“[…]we are thrilled to debut this one-of-a-kind experience with families in the tri-state area,” said Michael McNally, senior director, brand relations at LEGO Systems, Inc. “We can’t wait to see how that inherent creativity comes to life as we engage New Yorkers and visitors alike in memorable hands-on, minds-on LEGO play experiences for the entire family.”

This young fellow found at least one kind of immersive LEGO activity at Play Fair 2017.

Here’s a line-up of what to expect…LEGO® Life: Maximize your show experience via the LEGO Life app, a safe, social network for kids who love to build. The app will offer details on show activities and insider tips, and the LEGO Life team will host exclusive opportunities to build, capture and share unique LEGO creations made at the show with the broader community of LEGO fans in the app.

Meet the Masters on the Main Stage: Meet a LEGO Master Builder and learn building tips and tricks in live demonstrations, competitions and Q&A sessions.

LEGO Architecture: Build together to create the iconic skyscrapers that make up the Manhattan skyline in this community building area.

LEGO MinecraftTM: Journey with Steve to build your way through the iconic and ever-popular Minecraft universe with the thousands of specialty LEGO pieces found in this creative building zone.

Coding Corner: Build, code and play with the new LEGO BOOST and heritage LEGO MINDSTORMS® toolkits to test your skill in creating your own LEGO robot.

LEGO Shop: Browse a huge selection of LEGO sets for builders of all ages, or select from an assortment of “show only” souvenirs.

Ticketsare now available and can be purchased at https://liveevent.lego.com/tickets/. $30 General Admission, $45 VIG (Very Important Guest) and $75 VIK (Very Important Kid) ticketing options are available.

(Not Just) Another Brick in the Wall…
For several generations LEGO has been a fun medium for kids to create with but its artistic applications truly came to light via the work of builders like Nathan Samaya (The Art of the Brick) and Mike Doyle’s Beautiful LEGO compendiums. The LEGO Movie clinched the brand’s ascendance to cultural icon status, and social media affords fans across the globe learning and sharing experiences at a grassroots level.

No design awards here, but an ernest LEGO “doodle” by yours truly.

SkeletonPete Says…
I must admit I didn’t fully get the scope of Lego-Mania until two fairly recent events. First, a design workshop with LEGO Creative Director Jeremy Brazeal at the 2015 Wanted/Design Conference in Brooklyn’s Industry City Complex, opened my eyes to the LEGO as a teaching tool. More recently at NYCC17 I noted my godson’s zeal for collecting and knowledge of the product range. A great hobby which rivals (maybe eclipses) my own enthusiasm for comic books back in the 1970’s.